Bento Dreams
by thirteenxwishes
Summary: This is my collection of Inuyasha oneshots and drabbles, all handily bound together in one story-like area for your convenience. Will be updated whenever a good prompt comes my way! Various pairings, but mainly InuyashaxKagome and SesshoumaruxKagome.
1. Monster in the Dark

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**Disclaimer:** Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for forthrightly's 3rd Annual Halloween Drabble Challenge over at LJ. This idea is soon to sprout a new InuyashaxKagome oneshot/drabble series, so watch this space!

Characters: InuyashaxKagome. Word count, 499.

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**Monsters in the Dark**

Kagome huffed, breath clouding in the cold air. The stairs to the loft of her apartment building were steep, old and creaky - this unfortunate combination left her clinging to the rail as she hauled herself towards her goal: the broken boiler, hidden away in the eaves. A swift kick or two, and her apartment would once again have functioning heating. It would morph back into the warm, welcoming home that it was. Usually. Whenever the boiler was working.

Of course, her landlord wouldn't pay for a new one.

Her grumblings turned into a full blown rant as she stubbed her toe against a step.  
"Let me correct myself! He has enough money to buy a new boiler. His hand just has trouble making the journey to his wallet, which may as well be up his- Ha!"

The stairs finally ended and Kagome stepped triumphantly into the roof-space - which was shrouded in total darkness.

The loft was scary.  
It was bad during the day, but much, much worse at night. Tonight wasn't just any old night, either - it had to be Halloween when the boiler decided to kick the bucket. She tried her best to ignore the shiver creeping up her spine. Her mind helpfully provided images of what could be lurking in the darkness. Just because youkai lived alongside humans didn't mean they were all friendly, after all.

Steeling herself, she walked purposefully over to the boiler (avoiding the weak spots in the floor) and bent over to examine it.

Thud. Thud.

Kagome froze, heart pounding. Thoughts of murderous youkai on Halloween made her breath catch.  
"H-Hello…?"

A figure loomed out of the shadows. She was about to scream for help when-

"What you doin' up here on your own?"

She sagged, boneless, at the sight of a familiar face.

"Inuyasha?"

Her long-time neighbour and friend snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Who else would it be, wench? A monster?"

She scowled, crossing her arms. Amusement glittered in his eyes, and he reached out a hand to pull her to her feet.

"What are you doing up here? I thought Sango told you I was going to fix the heating before she went out with Miroku?"

He looked past her at the boiler.

"Only just got back from work. Went to find you, and none of the others knew where you were."

Kagome smiled, teasing.

"You thought the monsters had eaten me, hm?"

He huffed, ears flat against his hair as a faint blush spread across his cheeks.

"… keh! Come on, you'll get cold. The boiler's working. Let's go."

Surprised, Kagome turned, and the pilot light was blazing away happily. Inuyasha pulled on her hand, leading her towards the stairs.

"I bought some ramen on the way home. My kettle isn't working. That's why I came to find you. Not because I was worried. I wasn't."

She squeezed his hand. "All right Inuyasha. And you can use my kettle if you want. As long as you share!"

"Keh!"

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Reviews and criticism appreciated. :)


	2. Our Own Little Pieces of Sky

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Era' at the comm iyfic_contest over at LJ.

Characters: InuyashaxKagome. Word count, 250.

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**Our Own Little Pieces of Sky**

Naraku died.

The Shikon purified.

And Kagome fell.

Down, down and further, until it wasn't so much a direction anymore as a way of life. The darkness swallowed her up hungrily, arms flung open in a deathly embrace.  
Time slipped through her fingers. Her precious moments, carved meticulously into the fabric of history, were erased. Reality was calling, and it was a bite that stung and festered, an open wound that would take much, much more than some painkillers and a bandage to cure.  
The last thing she saw was Inuyasha, expression wild and desperate as he hung helplessly over the side of the well. He was reaching for her, and she thought he was shouting but she couldn't hear him and all she could see was his eyes because they were burning, twisting, dying, over and over again until…

The sky faded away. Kagome floated in dreams of amber and red and silver, and tried not to think.

Her broken mantra pattered around her head with silent feet.

'_He's dead, they're safe, he's dead…"_

She wasn't sure how long she hung, trapped in purgatory for her sins.  
Eventually - seconds, minutes, hours later - the sky came back. It hadn't changed much.

Inuyasha was still standing at the top of the well, a rumpled business suit hanging from one shoulder. His eyes gleamed down at her and he stretched out a hand, one fang poking over his lip in that familiar grin.

"Keh. What took you so long, wench?"

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Reviews and criticism appreciated! ^^


	3. Silent Dancer

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Lose' at the comm iyissekiwa over at LJ - this is the full version, as I liked it better than the shortened one. :) Nominated for best short-short at the IYFG, 4th Quarter 2008.

Characters: InuyashaxKagome. Word count, 300-ish.

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**Silent Dancer**

Inuyasha stood in the forest clearing, ears twitching restlessly. The final battle was drawing nearer, and it was doing absolutely nothing for his peace of mind. Kagome was getting heartily sick of being shoved behind him at each perceived danger, as he'd found out earlier in the day.

His back still hurt. And they'd stopped at a village. He'd not recognised it until one of the old, old, old women had taken one look at his ears and dropped her head, grief turning pinwheels in her scent.

His eyes fixed on the grave marker in front of him. Taking one last, long breath of the night air, Inuyasha relaxed.

"It's been a long time, mama. A lot's happened. Last time I was here, I told you… about Kikyo. The priestess. You probably already know, but she's gone." His breath caught at the old hurt. "We're getting closer to Naraku."

The wind teased through his hair, brushing gently against his ears. He flattened them and dropped his chin.

"I'm worried." The admission felt heavy, like one of Kagome's sit spells. The breeze tickled his neck, and he carried on, slowly, haltingly. "About the battle. How it could end…" The moon disappeared behind a cloud. Long moments passed before the pained whisper fell from him.

"I can't lose her, too. She's everything- no. She's more than everything."

The wind died down and the forest was silent, holding its breath. All but one lone breeze, which settled around his shoulders like familiar, delicate arms.

Inuyasha sat for a while, breathing his fears into the cold night air. When he looked up again, his eyes burned with resolve.

"I won't lose her. Even if it means seeing you again, mama, I won't let her go."

The moon slipped from behind the clouds, and he watched the grave with a soft smile. Dropping into a deep bow, nose to the grass, he straightened and turned. Kagome and the others would be wondering where he'd gone.

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Days later, Naraku was defeated. Kagome's arrow disintegrated him in a blaze of power, its course corrected to strike the Shikon by an errant gust of wind.

Inuyasha just smiled a secret smile and held her close amongst the carnage.

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Reviews and criticism appreciated - especially concrit. :)


	4. Tales As Old As Time

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This oneshot was written for the prompt 'Memoir' at the comm iyfic_contest over at LJ. One of my favourites - may be continued, seeing as I'm turning into an AU series-writing freak. One of these days, I may actually get around to writing some canon. xD

Character: Sesshoumaru. Word count, 876.

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**Tales As Old As Time**

Time passed.

Fathers died, brothers were born, lost and found again. Little girls with missing teeth picked flowers, blossomed into maturity and stayed that way, stilled by mastery over life and death. Youkai stepped into the shadows while humans emerged, blinking and blinded into the light, before quickly trapping it within city skylines and the glare of technology.

Sesshoumaru, however, chose to drift through the ages like a leaf on the breeze; floating from one battle, one search, one project to another, and another and another. It was endless, and time flew by in a whirl of indeterminate colour that even his sharp eyes couldn't distinguish. So he simply called it white, and wore it like a suit of armour, splashed with red for his danger and the blood of those enemies who planned and shifted in the darkness between the seconds.

And now, sitting in the large airy study of his town house, it felt like that mad rush had slowed down and stopped, frozen around him as he looked back through the centuries. He never knew that writing an autobiography could be so… cathartic. Even if it was a lie and the name on the cover was one picked from the past, resurrected by his hand for another cycle of life until the years fell too quickly and society expected an end to him – at which point the name was dropped without ceremony, without burial, and the relentless circle began again. He smirked minutely and flexed his fingers around the hilt of a sword long turned to dust, and wondered when the Tenseiga's ability to bring life to the dead had migrated from the blade and into his hands.

The lid of his pen broke the silence with a soft click, and he glanced down at the swirls of ink spread across the fine paper in neat lines. His smirk faded into a discontented frown. It wasn't a quill in his hand, but a black biro, and sometimes it took him a few long seconds to tell the difference. Lines blurred, and so did he. Always wandering, once through the forests of Feudal Japan - and then over again in modern Tokyo, jumping from personality to personality, profession to profession until he became submerged under a barrage of different names. But always the same cold nature, untouchable and… lonely.

Admitting that one fault a number of decades ago during his tenure as a businessman had made his reality as odd and warped as the world encased behind Inuyasha's eyes - at least, for a while. Another death later, and he felt perfectly fine again, seeking out his irritating half-brother, Rin and other family in Tokyo and moving back to take his rightful place of Lord of the Western Lands. Which left him with far too much spare time on his hands - and brought back that undeniable itch beneath his skin to get up and get moving, urging him to walk the boundaries of his lands just as he walked through time, unstoppable and unshakable.

Clearly, some things remained the same, and he was one of them.

Shuffling the completed manuscript with harmless – human – hands, he set it down gently on the desk. The cover page stared back at him, a mostly meaningless title and the name 'Taisho Shu' written in flowing kanji beneath it. It was oddly reassuring to see the name of his house for the first time in many lives, even if his true title hadn't been heard in thousands of years.

Sometimes, he wondered if he forgot it. Sometimes, he almost did. But it came back, during the brief periods of sleep he snatched when he wasn't watching the world pass by, roaring up like the beast inside and consuming him, until he emerged fresh and clean and crisp and Sesshoumaru, ready to take on the world, and time, and life, and death – whatever was ready to be thrown at him – and win. Those were good mornings. Those were the days when the household staff cringed and kept close to the walls. Those were the days when it seemed like the Sengoku Jidai had moved through time and caught up with him again.

He wished they happened more often. And Lord Sesshoumaru didn't often wish for much, nor lightly. Somewhere in his infinite mind, a memory stirred - of a jewel and a miko who disappeared in a haze of white on a still summer morning. Wishes could be more powerful than he gave them credit for, he recalled, as a pair of fading blue eyes haunted him and tugged at his curiosity. Maybe a talk with Inuyasha was due…

He blinked back to reality, taking one last look at a false life imprisoned in paper. He rose in silence, moving towards the door in a flurry of pale slacks and a white dress shirt.

"Jaken, ring the publishers and tell them that the manuscript is finished."

Downstairs, through the ancient wooden floor, he heard a sudden crash and the scurrying of frightened feet. Beneath his human guise, Sesshoumaru smiled, and stepped through the door.

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Reviews and criticism appreciated. :)


	5. Searching for Strength

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This oneshot was written for the prompt 'Souta' at the comm iyfic_contest over at LJ. I'm glad they chose this prompt, as Souta is often pretty underrated in fic, I think.

Character: Souta. Word count, 1,128.

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**Searching for Strength**

These days, Souta is an only child.

These days, Mama fusses over him and Jii-chan constantly tells him stories of youkai, of myths and legends, knowledge he would normally have passed on to the eldest child. As usual, most of them are made up, or just too ridiculous to be true – but for all he knows, they could be.

Because after all - time travel is real, the Feudal Era is real, Inuyasha is real.

And up until a few months ago, his sister was real too.

She was here, with them, working her way through high school. She laughed, even though she had nothing to laugh about. And sometimes, he caught her crying, because she had everything to cry about.

Souta understood it in a simple way, then. Kagome loved Inuyasha, and Inuyasha wasn't here, so Kagome was sad. Now, nearly a year later, he feels like he's somehow come to terms with it. Because his sister is gone, and he has to take her place.

He does it with a heavy heart; never mind how he used to wish that he could be the responsible one in the family, back when he was young, innocent… stupid.

Never mind all the times he's been left behind with Mama and Jii-chan when Kagome left them through the well, to the Feudal Era and her fight against a great evil, her fight to protect the future from the past.

Never mind that his only wish in the world is selfish, because if he had a Shikon no Tama, he would wish it without hesitation.

He just wants his sister back.

And one day, when it all gets too much and mama is saying that they'll have to take him uniform shopping for high school, to the same shop they took Kagome when the battle was over and she was left in the future, alone, Souta runs.

He drops his bag in the doorway, and runs.

He doesn't care that it's selfish, immature. He doesn't care that it's cold, getting dark and the winter wind is whipping painfully across his face and cracking his lips. He doesn't care that Kagome wouldn't do something as stupid as running away from her problems - his brave sister always faced her demons head on, with fire in her eyes and a bow at the ready.

Souta isn't his sister. He isn't Kagome, and he never had to be Kagome, because before, Kagome was _there_, so there was no need for him to be like her.

Now, for his family and for himself, he has to be.

His feet lead him to a nearby park, one he walks past every day on his way to school, and he drops heavily on to a bench, gazing blankly up at the stars.

Was Kagome looking at these stars, too?

Did time even move in the same way in the Feudal Era?

So many things that he'd never know, never be able to ask…

His breath mists in the air, catching the moonlight and the shadows of the trees like a silver web. His eyes sting, dry from the wind, or so he thinks until he feels something warm running down his cheeks.

Glancing around, self-conscious, he relaxes when he sees that the park is empty and there's no-one around to see his tears.

Kagome wouldn't want him to be weak.

The silence of the night is little comfort, although it's better than listening to Mama and Jii-chan go on with life as normal, as though nothing's wrong or missing or out of place.

He's guilty of going along with the charade as well, but he can't keep it up all the time. Sometimes, he has to acknowledge that there is one Higurashi missing. His family don't seem to have that problem, and it makes him angry, irrationally angry.

"It's as if she were never there…"

His words are quiet and quickly stolen by the wind, whipped away across the park. More tears slip from his unwilling eyes, and Souta drops his head, drawing his hands over his face.

"Kagome… I miss you, nee-chan."

"Missed you too, squirt."

It takes a few seconds, but when he's sure he really did hear a reply, Souta jerks his head up, moisture flying out from his face and catching the light like tiny jewels.

There, impossibly, sitting on the bench next to him…

"Kagome… is that really you?"

His sister turns, and she's smiling, happy – so much happier than she was the last time he saw her, the night before their mother sent her down the well with her blessing. _Because she didn't even stop to say goodbye…_

"Yep. Here-"

She offers him her arm, bare to the night in a short-sleeved top.

"Pinch if you like. Mama did the same thing when we came over."

He pinches. She's real, and nothing is going to stop him from throwing his arms around her. So he does.

"Nee-chan!"

"Hey there, Souta. Sorry it took so long for us to come and visit. We had to be sure I'd disappeared from this era before we came over."

She draws back, and Souta recognises her scolding face.

"And you really worried Mama when you ran off! She had no idea where you'd gone, and when we rang the doorbell, she practically threw herself on us and started shouting before she even realised who we were!"

Her ire disappears quickly and she raises an amused eyebrow.

"So I'd start thinking about apologies and excuses before we get home, yeah?"

He's nodding without really thinking about it, too busy formulating a million questions to throw at his sister.

"Kagome, did you come back through the well? And why now? What did you mean about waiting for yourself to lea…oh."

She can clearly see the understanding dawning on his face, because she laughs, pulling him into a one-armed hug.

"We lived through the years, Souta. I'll explain how when we get back home. C'mon – Inuyasha wants to say hi. And Mama has a tirade waiting and ready."

He doesn't care about any of that, and he wants to say as much, though in fewer words and lighter terms.

"Kagome?"

She stands, pulling him with her, but she takes the time to pause and look at him, blue eyes expectant. She looks exactly the same as she did when she left, but there's something in her face – something new and something old that he can't describe, but she's still the same sister that he's always known.

"I'm glad you're back."

A brilliant smile blooms, and he finds himself in his third hug in as many minutes.

He grins fiercely into her shoulder, and clings on for all he's worth.

Souta isn't letting his sister go again.

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Reviews and criticism appreciated. :)


	6. Untouchable

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha - all credit to Rumiko Takahashi, etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Karma' in Nobody's weekly challenge over at Dokuga - I suppose it _could_ be seen as an extension of 'Two Colour Palette', or at least in that universe, but for now I think I can stand on its own. So, no painting Sesshoumaru here. Yet. In other news, possibility of a new InuyashaxKagome collection on the horizon, so if that's the way you roll, watch this space!

Characters: SesshoumaruxKagome. Word count, 491

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**Untouchable**

The shrine was quiet. Downstairs, the lights were off; the kitchen was dark, as was the living room, and - from what he could see - the elder members of clan Higurashi were happily snoring away in the two bedrooms on the eastern side of the house. In the front-facing room, there was no light – but there was the flickering of a TV screen, and the faint noise of Souta's snickering and the tinny audio of a video game.

Sesshoumaru blinked, and thought back to a warm morning, sitting with Kagome beneath the trees and listening to her babble about her brother, his idolization of Inuyasha and love for killing monsters that appeared on his talking box. When he told her that he found her brother's method of training interesting, she had smiled, happiness dancing around the corners of her mouth and totally at odds with the faraway look in those captivating blue eyes.

Had that moment happened for her yet? It was very easy to lose track, when you were reliving your life from a different perspective. And her perspective was possibly the most confusing of them all. First Inuyasha, then Inuyasha and Kikyou, and then him. So many events, so much time. So infuriating.

Watching Souta destroying aliens eventually grew boring, and his eyes travelled easily from the front of the house to the western side, nearest to the well-house and the Goshinboku. The ancient tree stood tall over the shrine like a silent protector, its branches reaching high towards the crescent moon, hanging heavy and bloated in the sky. Sesshoumaru smirked wryly. They were looking in the wrong direction, if they were searching for the true guardian of the Higurashi line. But he hadn't watched their family for centuries simply for the recognition, and being a god or a spirit really didn't suit his intention.

His thoughts were interrupted by a creak.

Ah, there was his 'intention'. She came to the window, twisting the locks and swinging open the wooden frames. They gave with little protest. Kagome sighed, running both hands through her hair and taking a deep breath of the cool night air. Her scent wafted over to him, the breeze toying with his control and urging him to leave his vantage point and go over to the window, where she was waiting.

'_Her surprised eyes would be worth it…'_

The wind turned cold, and brought him back to reality.

She wasn't waiting for him.

He was an enemy. A killer. The evil, ruthless brother of Inuyasha. She didn't know him as Sesshoumaru; she only knew him as the Lord of the Western Lands, hiding behind a mask of power and death and hatred.

'_And now, my past actions come back to haunt me. If this is karma, it will fall at my claws. It is more like a bitch than my mother.'_

The stars twinkled. Kagome smiled. Sesshoumaru clenched his fists, turned on his heel, and left.

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Thanks for reading - all feedback is appreciated and earns hugs. ^^


	7. Eyes For The Stars

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Star[s]' at the LJ comm ebonysilks. Proudly placed third. :) As a side note, for anyone reading my Sess/Kag series Two Colour Palette, (now morphing into epic!connected story, much to my exasperation) an update should be on its way sooner rather than later. Apologies for the delay.

Characters: SesshoumaruxKagome. Word count, 243.

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**Eyes For The Stars**

He sees her across a crowded room, radiant in a dress the colour of the night sky, stars draped around her neck and captured in her soft hair. They outshine every light, every glittering piece of wit or conversation, and he can't stop his eyes from sliding back to her, again and again and again. Irresistible.

Inuyasha, lounging in his tux and lazily admiring every woman in the room, notices.

"Oi. If you like her so much, go and talk to her."

He ignores him, turning to the next associate and welcoming him with a slight bow and murmured words. It doesn't take long for the syllables to blur, and his gaze shifts over the short man's shoulder - to her, absently twirling a champagne flute in her hand, fingers catching the colours and weaving them into the starlight surrounding her like a second skin, all silver and satin.

He can't look away.

She glances up, meets his eyes, and he sinks, stunned, into startling blue. Pale pink plays across her cheeks, turning her into a nebulae of colours, shifting seamless from one to the next in beautiful cosmic array.

The decision makes itself.

"Excuse me."

Another bow. The man nods, moves on, and he crosses the room in long, easy strides. When he stops - inches away - she smiles, and speaks, extending a moon-pale hand

"Kagome Higurashi. Nice to meet you."

The stars sit outside the wide windows, and Sesshoumaru falls.

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Thanks for reading - all feedback is appreciated and earns hugs. ^^


	8. Simple Things Unsaid

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Simple' at the LJ comm iyfic_contest. Came in at second place, which was a nice surprise. :)

Characters: InuyashaxKagome. Word count, 250.

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**Simple Things Unsaid**

He does something stupid. Pushes her away, follows the soul-stealer, and never looks back.

When he returns, aching inside with the coldness of obligation, she smiles, a little sadly, and hands him a bowl of steaming ramen.

_'Why?'_ His eyes ask.  
_'It's simple.'_ Hers answer.

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He sits, an empty wreck, after the collapse of Mt. Hakurei - the collapse of _her_.

She comes, kneels beside him, and offers a shoulder to cry on, even when she knows that he will never cry where others can see.

_'Why?'_ He questions, in the tilt of his lips.  
_'It's simple.'_ She replies without words.

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He watches her sleep, on the night she saved the woman who stole her soul.

_'Why?'_ The words burn in his throat.  
_'It's simple.'_ She hears them anyway, whispered in her dreams.

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He stands alone, watching the sun rise on the morning of her true death. This time, he cries.

Arms embrace him from behind, and the scent of sunbeams settles around him like a warm blanket.

_'Why?'_ He wants to know, tension seeping away into the silence.  
_'It's simple.'_ She says, in the press of her face against his back.

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He senses her, after an eternity of waiting, hoping, wishing. Stunned, he reaches down to raise her up.

_'Why?'_ He wonders, gazing up at her, balanced on the lip of the well.  
_'It's simple.'_ Comes the standard answer, and he watches it sparkle in her blue eyes, melting, migrating, until it finally becomes real, born by her breath.

"I love you."

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Thanks for reading - all feedback is appreciated and earns hugs. ^^


	9. Progressions

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Favor' at the LJ comm ebony_silks. Took first place, which made me smile. :)

Characters: SesshoumaruxKagome. Word count, 300-ish.

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**Progressions**

Theirs was a relationship based on favors.

He rescued her from Inuyasha and his bleeding red eyes in the belly of Naraku.

She saved him when Rin fell ill, went dancing along the brink of death only to be pulled away by rose-scented power, warm hands and a quiet smile.

He guided her back to the village after a youkai almost killed her in the forest.

She gave him shelter from the rain one day, beneath an oak's wide branches and an umbrella not made for two.

He offered her a place to stay after the fire, where everything burned and the only road home was closed.

She helped him secure an agreement with the warring clans in the West, the threat of her reiki forcing them to abandon their mutinies.

He gave her all trappings of a Lady of the Court.

She taught him to feel like a human.

He taught her to fight like a youkai.

She trusted him to watch after the Shikon.

He helped her gain mastery over Time.

She let him see his father again.

But there are some things beyond this endless cycle of debt and repayment. Love is one of them.

"Isn't it, koishii?"

"Hm?"

Sesshoumaru looked up from his desk, one eyebrow raised at the petite woman lounging on the carpet, pen in hand.

"Love. More than just a favor?"

He didn't answer immediately, abandoning his work to stand and pull her to her feet.

"That may be so... but there is one more favor you can do for me, anata..."

He took a moment to bask in her brilliant smile before covering it with his own. Yes, he decided, there was something to be said for helping other people if this was his reward.

His pedestal stood cold and empty in the corner.

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Thanks for reading - all feedback is appreciated and earns hugs. ^^


	10. Stranger, No Danger

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Ripple' at the LJ comm iyissekiwa - took second place, from memory. *glee*

Characters: InuyashaxKagome, implied. Word count, hovering around the 250 mark.

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**Stranger, No Danger**

Perched on the edge of the fountain, the little girl sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes.  

"Mama..."  

One small fist uncurled and she looked down at the pale grey pebble sitting in her palm, picked up during their walk through the park.  

"... where are you?"  

"Oi."  

She squeaked, startled, and the stone slipped from her hand and into the water, casting ripples across the stillness. A man with long black hair knelt down, peering at her closely.  

"You all right, brat?"  

"... I can't find my mama."  

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he sighed. She just stared. He had a string of beads around his neck - she reached out to grasp them, tears all but forgotten in lieu of the sudden feeling of _safety_ washing over her.  

"... C'mon. Let's go find her."  

She wanted to go with him, something telling her to grab on and not let go, but...  

"Mama told me not to talk to strangers."  

His hand dipped into the fountain and he presented her pebble, dripping and dark.  

"I ain't gonna hurt you. Here - proof."  

She smiled brilliantly, and he took her hand - very big compared to hers, but warm and safe as tugged her gently towards the cafe. She was so busy gazing at his hair that she missed his quiet words.  

"Besides... we're not strangers, Kagome."  

They found her mama eventually. As she waved good-bye to her dark haired saviour, she wondered if she'd see him again.   

Little did she know that he was thinking along the same lines.

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Reviews and criticism are rewarded with hugs. :) Also any views on a possible expansion/continuation? Been toying with this one for a while.


	11. Look Beyond Skin

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N: _This drabble was written for the prompt 'Blind' at the LJ comm iyfic_contest.

Characters: Sesshoumaru, Kagome - friendship or romance, you choose! Word count, 201.

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**Look Beyond Skin**

When Kagome got her first guide dog, she was very happy. Not because she didn't have to stumble around with a cane anymore, or because she wouldn't trip over the step while trying to answer the door - but because her mother told her he was white and had eyes the colour of gold coins.

"You know, I wasn't always blind," she said to him, one sunny day in the small kitchen of her flat. "I could see everything for the first seventeen years of my life, and then bam, it was gone. Work of a second. Everything was over."

She didn't say why - left the battle unsaid, the miasma that burned like acid and stole her sight forever. And for once, there was no pity; only the feel of steady eyes watching her fumble to boil the kettle.

That unwavering gaze was the only reason why she wasn't surprised when one day she woke up with Sesshoumaru sitting at the kitchen table, a steaming cup of tea ready and waiting for her to drink.

"Life isn't determined by a single second." he said, and she smiled, tears spilling from sightless eyes.

"I know."

She felt his knowing smirk, and amended.

"Now."

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Reviews and criticism appreciated. :)


	12. Total Deviation

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Inuyasha, all credit to Rumiko Takahashi etc.

_A/N:_ This drabble was written in response to the prompt 'Torn' at the LJ comm ebony_silks, where it won first place.  
Characters: Sesshoumaru/Kagome. Word count, 496.

(A note to anyone still following after my extended absence: I'm slowly dragging myself back into writing after being insanely busy for most of last year. The few pieces I'm uploading here were written a while back and are meant to be an incentive for me to get my arse into gear and get on with bigger pieces like Two Colour Palette and Ruins of History – so hopefully this will be the first in a string of updates. Sorry to keep you waiting! - 13.)

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**Total Deviation**

She was gone.

Surrounded by the familiar comfort of his study, Sesshoumaru curled his fingers around the hilt of his blade and snarled.  
He knew he shouldn't stop her. A good leader would let her walk into Naraku's waiting arms, watch the trap snap shut and then strike, killing enemy and ally alike in one decisive stroke. A good leader would take advantage of her weak heart to be strong. A good leader would do many things to reach victory, uncaring of the crunch of bones beneath his feet as he took each heavy stride down the long path to peace.

He was a good leader.  
He was-

"My lord?"

"Leave me," he hissed. The general standing in the door disappeared in the blink of an eye. He was just another reminder of what waited beyond the four walls of this room; the terror and the blood and the death – and on the horizon, the promise of a new dawn.

She wouldn't be there see it. She knew that, and so did he. And still she made the choice to leave the circle of his protection, to confront Naraku without the strength of the Western forces at her back. He didn't understand it. His mind was made for logic, all cool planes and curving angles. Easy. Simple. Nothing like the volatile passion she held beneath her skin, barely checked even at the best of times.

A slow burning pain took residence behind his eyes, the ache of stress combined with the four neat holes bleeding steadily from his palms. He glanced down at the tips of his claws, stained red like the evening sky.

"I won't stop her."

Saying it to the empty room didn't help.

"I can't stop her."

Neither did a change in verb.

Outside, the world fell to darkness. Stars and moon disappeared behind a looming bank of cloud. She was probably almost there, now. Weeks, months, years of fighting alongside her taught him enough about her movements – the speed, the grace, the potential – to judge how far she could travel in an hour. She would run, of course. Stumble. Fall. All the while hoping, hoping they hadn't noticed her absence just yet, because he would follow and that would be that.

She expected him to come after her. He expected her to expect him to come after her.

It was all one large game of strategy between them; guessing and questions and double-crossing. So it had been since she arrived at his castle with few arrows and fewer answers. Their careful avoidance spanned the space between the years, and it almost crippled him to find that he couldn't give up their intrigue now.

He couldn't. He couldn't.

He couldn't, until the world beyond the window was lit with blinding radiance - rosy, warm, _her_. Power crackled like mocking laughter, vicious enough to blast the clouds apart and free the night sky from their inky grasp. Moonlight burned silver. He was moving long before it faded.

Their game was up. Her victory.

_'Kagome. Don't die.'_

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Thanks for reading - all feedback is appreciated and earns hugs. ^^


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